Montgomery County council member Roger Berliner (D-Dist. 1) is trying to tackle one of the biggest issues facing the area: traffic congestion. He spoke about the issued during the Friendship Heights Transportation Management District advisory committee Monday morning during their monthly meeting.

“We love being ranked in lots of things. I don’t think congestion is one of the things we want to be nationally ranked in,” he said. “It’s going to take a shift in our thinking."

Berliner, who chairs the county council’s Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee, said the county has lagged behind compared to other progressive communities, like Portland, Oregon. Now, the county is playing catch up.

But the big question is where is the money going to come from to help fix the problem.

Berliner said he is advocating for a state gasoline tax. He said he’s been told the votes are secure in the Senate, but the House is currently about 20 to 30 votes short.

If those votes can be secured, “we will have a 10 cent gasoline tax increase with an inflation rider that will produce something on the order of $300 million plus a year for our transportation system, which we can then leverage in terms of our bond capacity…If we don’t get those dollars we’ll be in a world of hurt.”

The council president is also hoping to snag federal funds for sustainable transportation initiatives.

Berliner told the group County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) and At-Large council member Marc Elrich (D) will be meeting with the governor Tuesday to talk about transportation and bus rapid transit.

Referring to Maryland Route 355 (Wisconsin Avenue/Rockville Pike) and Connecticut Avenue, Berliner said, “we have two state roads that act as you will as main streets through our communities and are totally congested.”

While Berliner mentioned a hybrid of transit and roads including the Purple Line, to improve congestion, he focused his talk on bus rapid transit.

“My hope is we can do extraordinary things in the next couple of years. One of the benefits of bus rapid transit is in fact that it is less expensive. It is something we could actually get done,” he said.
Robert Schwarzbart, representative from the Friendship Heights Village Council, asked whether a rapid transit bus system with dedicated lanes for the buses, would work in a congested area like Friendship Heights.

“I’m not here to ram this down your throats. I’m here because I believe this is the most exciting opportunity our community has to address the number one quality of life issue our community faces,” Berliner answered.

 “Roads are not the answer. We know that,” he said. “If we’re going to make a giant leap forward in terms of getting cars off our roads, whether it’s during rush hour or otherwise, we need a transit option that is so attractive, so compelling that you say to yourselves ‘I’m taking this option.’”

Berliner said historically the bus system in the county served people that don’t have any other option and has become a “class system.” In the coming years, he hopes that will change.